Posy Ring inscribed ‘I Live in Hope’, Wool Trade Gallery – A poem by Emma Phillips, read by Beccy Lloyd.

She loved me not; not then, when I offered her
my boyish charms in cuckoo–spit and daisies,
not now, though my cheeks still flush
red campions whenever she is near.
Look, I want to tell her, how my coat of serge
frames now a merchant’s chest,
not a boy, a man of means
trade caught me in her sails
and fed my hunger to be worthy.
A French maid’s tongue has cultured me
yet her smooth vowels I wish to hear.
I bring her Oriental spices that she might
remember me, yet she consigns them
to the place my unpicked petals fell.
She shrinks my world and in this Devon clay
which demands a robust plough
all that I am is trampled
like a bridlepath to horse hooves.
She will never love me.
This is not home now.

The posy ring that inspired this poem dates from the 1500s or 1600s and has the inscription ‘I live in hope’ engraved on the inside. Posy rings were popular in the 15th to 17th centuries, as tokens of love. It was believed that wearing words against the skin increased their poignancy. This ring was found by a metal detectorist near Uffculme and is on permanent display in our Wool Trade Gallery.

While we don’t know anything about the original owner, Emma Phillips (2024-25 Writer in Residence at Tiverton Museum) has imagined their story here. Featured alongside the words, read by Beccy Lloyd, are photos of farm workers in Mid Devon from our photographic collection. Of course photography wasn’t invented until much later than the 16th and 17th century, so the photos shown here are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Author: Emma Phillips
Voiceover Artist: Beccy Lloyd, https://www.eloquentproductions.co.uk/